Antiskid roadway



March 1943- R. G. LE TOURNEA'U 2313;829

I ANTISKID ROADWAY.

Filed D60. 23, 1941 Patented Mar. 16, 1943 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Robert G. Le Tourneau, Peoria, 111., assignor to -R. G. Le Tourneau, Inc., a corporation Application December 23, 1941, Serial No. 424,146

8 Claims.

This invention pertains generally to an improved anti-skid roadway, and in particular the invention is designed for use on vehicular structures such as bridges, overpasses, or the like and of the type having steel plate as the road bed; one structure of this type being shown'in my co-pending application for United States Letters Patent, Ser. No. 424,342, filed Dec. 24, 1941.

The principal object of the present invention is to provide an anti-skid roadway which comprises in combination a steel plate roadbed faced on its upper surface with metallic anti-skid means permanently applied thereto by welding; the assembly being designed to be Wear-resistant to a high degree and thus permanent; to avoid road shock annoyance to the vehicle driver; and to prevent damage to pneumatic vehicle tires which ride thereon.

A further object of the invention is to provide an anti-skid roadway which comprises, in combination, a steel plate road bed faced with a mat prefabricated from steel wire into a wide-mesh pattern; this mat being permanently affixed to the steel roadbed by tack welding at a multiplicity of points.

A further object of the invention is to produce a simple and inexpensive structure and yet one which will be exceedingly effective for the purpose for which it is designed.

These objects I accomplish by means of such structure and relative arrangement of parts as will fully appear by a perusal of the following specification and claims.

In the drawing similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the several views:

Figure 1 is a fragmentary plan view of one embodiment of the anti-skid roadway.

Figure 2 is a fragmentary sectional elevation of the roadway shown in Fig. 1.

Figure 3 is a fragmentary plan view of a modified form of the anti-skid roadway.

Figure 4 is a fragmentary sectional elevation of the roadway-shown in Fig. 3.

Referring now more particularly to the characters of reference on the drawing, and at present to the embodiment shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the numeral I indicated the steel plate roadbed of a bridge, overpass or the like. To the upper surface of this steel plate I there is afiixed the antiskid means which comprise the following:

A flat, prefabricated mat is applied to the upper surface of the steel plate I, the mat comprising a plurality of transversely extending longitudinally spaced steel wires 2 on which are disposed in intersecting relation a plurality of transversely spaced longitudinal wires 3. The wires 2 and 3 are of heavy-duty gauge (approximately one-quarter inch in diameter), and corresponding ones are parallel and spaced to provide a mesh pattern, preferably-about four inches square. The mat is prefabricated into unitary assembly by welding the wires 2 and 3 together at the point of intersection, whereby the resulting mat 'or screen maybe readily handled and applied to the surface of the steel plate road bed.

The mat is permanently afiixed to the steel plate roadbed by tack welding the mat to said road bed at a multiplicity of points 4, which are preferably at or adjacent the point of intersection of the wires 2 and 3.

With the mat afiixed to the steel plate roadbed, as above, a permanent and effective anti-skid roadway is produced; the roadway being wear resistant, producing little if any road shock to vehicles passing thereover, and is not deleterious to pneumatic vehicle tires.

The modified form of roadway shown in Figs. 3 and 4 is of the same general construction as above described and includes a steel plate roadbed la and a Wide mesh steel wire mat applied thereto, and such mat including transverse cross wires 2a and longitudinal wires 3a.

However, in this embodiment the longitudinal wires 3a, which rest atop the transverse wires 2a, are deformed downwardly centrally between said transverse wires, as at D, whereby to contact the adjacent surface of the steel plate. In this embodiment, the mat is tack welded to the steel plate not only at the points of intersection 4a of the longitudinal and transverse wires, but also is tack welded, as at 4b, to the plate wherethe deformed portions of wires 3a engage said plate. By thus deforming and additionally tack welding, a more secure anti-skid mat is obtained.

From the foregoing description it will be readily seen that I have produced such a structure as substantially fulfills the objects of the invention as set forth herein.

While this specification sets forth in detail the present and preferred construction of the structure, still in practice such deviations from such detail may be resorted to as do not form a departure from the spirit of the invention, as defined by the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and useful and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. An anti-skid roadway comprising, in combination, a steel plate roadbed having its upper surface exposed for vehicle wheel engagement,

surface exposed for vehicle wheel engagement,

and an exposed metallic anti-skid mat fixed to said upper surface of said plate; said mat being of wire mesh.

4. An anti-skid roadway-comprising, com-" bination, a steel plate roadbed having its uppersurface exposed for vehiclewheel engagement,

and an exposed metallic anti-skid mat fixed to said upper surface of said plate; said mat being g of heavy-duty wire mesh, the mesh being relatively Wide.

5. An anti-skid roadway comprising, in combination, a steel plate roadbed' having its upper surface exposedfor; ve hicle wheel engagement, and an exposed metallic anti-skid mat fixed to said upper surface of said plate; said mat being prefabricated from wire into mesh pattern and being tack welded to the steel plate at a multiplicity of points.

6. An anti-skid roadway as in claim 5 in which the mat is tack welded to the steel plate at the intersection of the wires.

7. An anti-skid roadway comprising, in combination, a steel plate roadbed, and a wire mat of relatively wide mesh pattern disposed on the upper surface of said plate; said mat including spaced parallel wires engaging the plate and other wires resting atop said first named wires in intersecting relation thereto, said other wires intermediate said first named wires'being deformed downwardly into engagement with the plate; the mat being tack welded to the plate at a multiplicity of points.

8 An anti-skid roadway comprising, in combination, a steel plate roadbed, and a wire mat of relatively wide mesh pattern disposed on the upper surface of said plate; said mat including spaced parallel wires engaging the plate and other wires resting atop said first named wires in intersecting relation thereto, said other wires intermediate said first named wires being deformed downwardly into engagement with the plate; the mat being tack welded to the plate at the points of intersection of said wires and also at the point of 1 engagement of said deformed portions of said other wires with the plate.

ROBERT G. LE TOURNEAU. 

